Some of you may remember this happening in the middle of Modric-mania this August, but for those of you that don't Doherty was was lured to Chelsea after being hand picked by Michael Emenalo to enhance our European scouting department. Last week one of his recent finds (Apostolos Vellios) netted a late goal to seal the 3-1 win for Everton. In the post game presser Everton manager David Moyes was attributed with the following:
I have to give credit to Mick Doherty. He found Seamus Coleman for £60,000 and Vellios for even less. I like to see players myself when I can, but when they're abroad it's not always possible. But if the scouts think they're worthwhile, you're willing to take a chance, even though it's a lot to expect them to come into the Premier League. Vellios has something. I bought him unseen because of the price. And yesterday when we needed to change one or two things, he came up trumps.
Doherty found Vellios for only £50,000 at the age of 18 last January. He has excelled at spotting undervalued young talent from other clubs, something that has been key to Everton's success over the years. Beyond Vellios and Coleman, Doherty has also been credited with bringing youngster Ross Barkley into the Everton academy at the age of 11, snatching him up before Liverpool could add him to their academy system. Recently we've been linked heavily to Barkley (whom you'll see profiled in just over a week), and Doherty is likely a large part of the reason why. Hopefully Doherty will continue to spot bargains like these to add to the Chelseasystem, as he seems to have a real eye for picking the gems out of other teams academies before they even realize what they have.
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